Alter (HIATUS)
by chachachoochoo
Summary: A bus full of students meet an accident that sends them to a world they are not familiar with, what will happen to them? (Criticisms are welcome...even if there might be negative criticisms but please be honest) Feburary 9/10 chapter 1, 2 and 3 were slightly updated.. (ON HIATUS - patching up the grammar and style issues of previous chapers)
1. Chapter 1

chapter 1

It was a stormy afternoon, a bus carrying a class of 20 students was moving across the slippery road. The road was curvy and on the edge of a cliff with railings on the side to avoid any vehicles from falling off.

It's already late in the afternoon, classes ended an hour ago, the bus was intended to bring the students who live on the outskirts of the city home.

"Maww~ why did it have to rain today?"

A girl's voice says loudly whining to her classmates.

"Well it is the monsoon season"

A monsoon is a seasonal occurrence of prevailing winds in the southeast parts of Asia, it can bring heavy rains and at times disaster occurs depending on the strength of the wind.

Some schools stop classes when it comes to avoid getting the students in harms way, but their's was different their was no occurrence of the monsoon ever harming students in the area and the rain didn't seem that heavy at the time but during the afternoon the rain started to pour down it was only after classes did the rain started to get heavier.

"Sigh, do you know when it will end Gray?"

"the eye of the storm already passed us soo maybe 2 more days"

"uuggghhhh!"

a classmate named Gray responded to her annoyed plea much to her annoyance.

The eye of the storm is mostly calm weather during a cyclone it seems that the reason there was no rain earlier that morning is because of that, but now the eye has passed and the blunt of the storm is coming back

"though i think it would be better if they cancelled class than let us go home during a storm, what do you think Ash?"

Gray delivered opinion to his classmates and reaches out to ask another boy named Ash sitting in the back corner of the bus about his own opinion.

"..."

But the boy named Ash did not respond as if he did not hear Gray's question , or he was actually ignoring Gray

The students were nothing special just your average students with rich families who live on the outskirts of the city.

"LOOK OUT!"

"WHAT THE?"

A classmate in the front seat shouts as an incoming bus was about to collide with theirs. as the bus swerves to the side of the road screeching along the rails of the road to avoid the incoming bus, Ash noticed something odd about the bus that almost collided with theirs as it passes by the bus they were on.

The bus that passed by did not have a driver, nor did it have any other passengers aboard except for three.

"Thats strange"

"Whats strange?"

Ash finally breaking his silence utters a word that caught the ears of the other student

"There was no one on that bus.."

"WHAT?"

everyone was suprised to hear what Ash said

"Noo he must be joking haha"

"Come on who could have drove the bus?"

"Maybe you need glasses?"

The other students didn't know if he was just joking or being serious, Ash was always like that to them, always staying in the sidelines perhaps he was shy but there were often times he joined the group and shared a laugh or two with them.

"..."

Ash did not bother to go any further but was sure of what he saw, the bus had no driver, no passengers except for three, he could not tell exactly what happened himself as the bus moved to fast but the color of what the three figures wore was what caught his eye, 'Purple, blue and red'.

"EVERYBODY HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!"

The bus driver shouts as the bus swerves uncontrollably heading towards the rails even though the driver avoided crashing into the oncoming bus he swerved the bus so hard that he can no longer keep it stable on the curvy slippery road, the bus swerves tp the edge of the road hitting the rails, as the rails break and bus falls off the cliff down the rocky slope.

The sound of metal and rock clashing and beating riddles the mountain side as the bus tumbles and lands at the base of the mountain on the side of its hull.

The bus' wreckage rests at base of the mountain near it is a forest that expands over a wide range of land with no city in sight.

Inside the broken bus the students lay, hurt, confused some have cuts and bruises all over them and unconcious, Gray slowly opens his eyes the sensation of pain welcomes him as he struggles to crawl out and stand back up

"gu!-haaa-haaa-"

Gray almost fell down as he struggled to get up, his vision was blurry but it gradually came back to him

"ugh!..is everyone ok?"

Gray asks after getting his bearings hoping nobody is hurt, the bus' wreckage nestled at the base of the mountain the hull of the old bus was destroyed, damp and moist from the heavy rain, Gray tries to check and see if the others are ok and sees Anna lying on the floor.

"hey! you ok?"

"Gray?...ugh..my head!"

Anna is alive but hurt she hit her head hard on one the seats when the bus rolled down the mountain

"its not so bad, come on Anna help me with the others we need to get out of here"

Gray gets her up assuming she is ok. The two managed to wake the others including the driver, most of them recieved minor injuries but four are really injured sprain ankle/leg and large cuts.

They got out of the bus bringing with them their school bags, they picked up their foldable umbrellas and made their way out of the bus near the large forest by the mountain side.

"The rain is still pouring.."

"What are we going to do?"

"We have no choice now we have to look for shelter"

"we're really going through the forest?"

"we cant stay here! come on!"

They didn't know how long they were out, the sun was setting and soon they will be no way for them to look for a place to stay, they didn't have any other option except to traverse the unexplored forest hoping to find a place to stay

"Yeah lets go" they all said in unison

The group of 19 students made their way deep into the forest.

The driver remained silent during the entire trek, Gray noticed this and walked up to him

"you okay?"

Placing his hand on the driver's shoulders trying to comfort him.

"..yeah...sorry, i've endangered you all"

Those words held a bitter feeling of regret as he said them.

"it's ok, it wasn't your fault"

"..."

The driver was clearly blaming himself for what had happened, if "he had just paid more attention to the road while driving this wouldn't have happened" "iv'e endangered these students its my fault".

Even though Gray tried to comfort him the old man's self depreciation was too much.

"by the way where is that silent kid?"

The driver finally spoke after looking at the group and noticed that someone was missing, the student that was at the back corner of the bus Ash

"gasp!"

The group stops as they look around and notice someone was indeed missing Gray was shocked they forgot about Ash.

"you guys go ahead, i need to go get Ash!"

"you cant!, he was not there"

"what?...i have to be sure Micheal!"

"he was not there ,even if he was he would be dead!"

the distance from the bus wreckage was already far off even though they traveled in just a single direction the trek back would be dangerous considering how dark it has gotten.

"Gray, im sorry but we have to move"

"tch!"

"HEY!"

Gray's eyes widen as he hears a voice from afar, a familiar raspy voice coming from someone they knew.

"ASH!?"

Everyone was in disbelief, the one in front of them was none other than Ash but how was he able to do that? they thought

"COME ON I FOUND A CAVE"

To Gray and the group's suprise Ash is alive, and found shelter, the others were never familiar with Ash's voice because of how he never talk as much but they had no time to ask for questions yet, the rain was pouring harder they had to look for shelter.

Ash leads them to a cave somewhere in the forest, it was nothing out of the ordinary but it had a small bonfire located at the entrance of the cave.

"Here we can be safe for the night"

"FOR THE NIGHT?"

Layla frustrated and tired was surprised by what Ash said to them..

"Layla we have no choice"

" We cant just spend the night here!"

we cant even call for help, there's no signal here"

Away from the grid in the inner parts of the forest, there was no way they could call/text for help.

Cellphone signals are not common in the rural area of the country as most of the people live in the concentrated rural or urban areas so there are bound to be black holes in the grid, places with no internet or cellphone signal in the event that you are stranded in these parts you are most likely done for.

"Ash, how did you find this cave? were you not on the bus when we woke the others up?"

"...I -"

"GUYS SHE NEED HELP!"

Gray's question filled the atmosphere with everyone thinking the same thing asking Ash how he was able to find the cave and set up the bonfire but the cry for help from one of their classmates tending to the wound of another diverted their attention.

"whats wrong with Lisa?"

"her wounds are severe i can barely stop the bleeding"

Lisa's wound came from a broken glass shard that pierced her stomach.

"i can close the wound for now, hand me the first aid kit"

Layla comes forward trying to help them stop the bleeding. She had basic first aid training because of her parents were nurses.

"there that should stop the bleeding for now but she needs intensive medical care"

Layla says after patching up the wound on Lisa's stomach it may not be enough to fix the wound but it can give her more time till help arrives.

"we cant go anywhere unless the rain slows down"

"it doesn't look like it will anytime soon."

There was no way they could go out in the rain into the dark forest, the chances of getting lost are extremely high, they had no choice but to wait it out as they tried to get some rest.

Moments pass as the group spend the night hoping for the rain to slow down they slept on makeshift pillows with their bags hoping that tomorrow the rain will stop.

Hours pass but the rain did not slow down instead it was getting stronger and louder, as the group struggle to sleep feeling cold and hungry , with no cellphone signal they was no way for them to call for help. The driver could not sleep and chose to stand guard near the entrance while the rest of the students rest. He sat there for hours until..

"Im going out to look for help, just hold on"

the driver gets up declaring his intentions grabbing one of the student's umbrella.

"wait! stop!"

one of the students calls him out but to no avail, as if the man was possessed the driver quickly took the umbrella of one of the students and ran off into the dark forest.

"What was up with him?"

"did he... ran off to abandon us?"

The students were left confused by the driver's sudden decision, they were not that helpless as to completely rely on an adult but the presence of the driver was comforting for them knowing that they is someone who will defend them should they come across a violent wild animal, but now he left .

"There has to be something at the other end of this cave.."

"No, its better if we just stay here and wait it out"

"Actually Ash is right, we cant do anything just staying here"

Ash suggested that they should look inside the cave but the others disagree afraid of what they might find inside could be a pack of wild dogs or something dangerous, Gray on the other hand agrees with Ash seeing that it is pointless to just simply wait for the rain to stop.

"Alright 'sigh' hopefully we can find some medicinal herbs" Layla says getting up bringing her bag with her

"alright, but a few should stay behind and tend to the wounded"

"ok, me and Micheal will stay behind and watch over the others"

with this the group separates as fourteen of the students travel deep into the cave leaving the remaining two Micheal and Anders to take care of those with severe wounds.

They travel deep into the cave as the image of the two who chose to be left behind fade into the darkness, cave seemed just like any ordinary cave however it seems as though it stretches for miles away as even with a flashlight there seemed to be no end to the it.

Moments pass as they move deeper into the cave, the temperature changed it was no longer cold and it seems as though the rain has stopped as they could no longer hear it pounding from the outside, but that could just be because they are really deep inside the cave.

"How far IS THIS CAVE!?"

"Dont know but isn't it getting warmer?"

"Look! a way out!"

Ash points out forward revealing a way out an exit , the group rush outside but to their surprise they can only see another forest its as though the tunnel lead them deeper into the forest but there was no rain no is there any sign of there being any rain as the dirt and grass was dry.

"where are we?"

"where do you think? this is just the other side of the mountain!"

whined one of the students

"Calm down, look over there, smoke, there must be people down that way, maybe we can ask for help"

Layla says pointing towards the smoke rising most likely it was from a house or a camp.

"Lets go"

group heads towards where the smoke is coming from, traversing through the forest but something feels weird the group felt as though they were being watched.

"is something out there?"

One of the students frantically looks left and right as if something was stalking them

"something is not right"

the students stop as the entire surrounding becomes pitch black, they tried to stick together holding each other's hands or bags afraid that they would lose each other if they dont

-RUSTLE-

"What was that?"

"I dont know its completely dark!"

As if all light was extinguished, unable to see each other the group tries to stick together, a chill creeps up there spine giving them goosebumps as something seems to be approaching them

"look there!"

"what's that?"

As the darkness lifts the group spots something in front of them as the moon's light unveils the figure from the darkness as though it was a scene from a play revealing the kidlike figure to be a girl with short blond hair, black and white clothes, with red eyes and a red bow clipped on her hair.

"Hi! are you people lost?"

She says with her arm spread out wide and smiling, her red eyes stare at them intently like a child meeting a friend from a far away place

The group felt relieved they thought it was some kind of feral animal about to make mince meat out of them,

it was only a little girl - they thought

"umm yeah, we are kinda lost, hehe are your parents around? We could use some help"

Gray asked the little girl while it may seem odd to find a little girl out in the woods he can only think of looking for help right now.

"is that soo~ hmm thats too bad oh, you are not from the village?"

The little girl asks again another question but this time with more vigor moving closer avoiding the question that was asked of her

"no we're not from the village hehe my names Gray and these are my friends we are also kinda hungry, whats your name?"

Gray answers, introducing himself trying to act nice it wasn't a good idea to scare the girl seeing as her parents might be close by and would not willingly help them if they do anything to their daughter.

"my name is Rumia hahah you people are hungry too haha"

She says with a happy smile looking at the ragged students injured from the accident.

It may seemed insulting though like a rich person looking down on a beggar the little girl laughed at them but it was ok seeing as she is still a child.

"so you're really not from the village?"

She asked again.

"No we are not ok!, we really need help our friends need to find some medicine to treat their wounds"

"Arthur!"

one of the students named Paolo ignores Gray

"We are lost, hungry and in need of a place to stay!"

Arthur one of the students clearly frustrated became impatient and spoke out demanding help from the girl who keeps asking the same question to them.

"Is that soo~..."

she responded immediately but did not seem scared or angry as if she did not care for what Arthur said, then for a moment the little girl did not respond as if thinking to herself finally turns looking at them with a smile.

"Good..."

She says her eyes now glowing with a sinister red glare.

"...its dinner time~"


	2. Chapter 2

'CRUNCH' "AAAAHHHH!"

the quiet night was destroyed by a loud scream, the grass in front them was covered red with blood accompanied by the screams of their classmate Arthur who was standing in front of them.

"MY ARM! GET OFF! GET OFF!"

Arthur the impatient student who stood in front demanding food, shelter and medicine from a little girl tried to protect himself from the girl who lunged at him only for the girl to grab and bite the arm he was using to guard himself. Gray and others were in shock seeing the little girl called Rumia lunge at the guy and bite his arm, Gray and the others then hastened to get rumia off of him.

"help him cmon!"

"get off him!"

"let go him go!"

Gray and the others yelled as they rush to take the girl off the guy however...

"AAAHHH! STOP! STOP!"

-RIP- -TEAR-

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

they tried to get the girl away from him, pulling the girl away to release his arm but the harder they pulled the tighter her bite became as her teeth clenched deep into Arthur's arm from the skin to the bone until...

"AAAHHHHHHH HYAAAAAAAARRRRGGGG!"

"OH MY GOD!"

"HIS ARM!"

the little girl forcefully tore the guy's arm then backs away as she keeps her distance from the group helping Paolo

"we dont have enough bandages to fix this wound!"

"IT HURTS GAHH-"

the group started panicking unable to find a way to help their friend who lost his arm from the elbow to hand bleeding non stop.

"'munch' 'munch' you should'nt be screaming so loud...the others will hear you" the little girl said while eating whats left of the guy's arm

"there's more!?"

More? what does she mean more?, where the hell are we?- these thought flooded Gray's mind as he can feel his heartbeat beating faster and his hands becoming numb.

"crap! crap! lets get out of here!"

Gray urges the other to help the guy and run back to the cave

"where do you think your going? im not done with you yet~"

says Rumia, her mouth dripping with blood having finished with her snack Arthur's arm and now fixes her gaze at them

this is bad - Gray thought to himself, given at how fast the little girl lunged at Arthur there was no way all of them can outrun her but he wanted to hope that they can outrun Rumia

"the village is closer, if we make a break for it we can make it to safety, but there is still the problem of that girl chasing us someone has to distract her while the others run for it"

he thought of a plan to let the others escape while someone distracts the little girl but then who the hell would agree to such a plan.

"where's Ash!?"

he noticed Ash was missing did he run? Gray couldn't help but wish he were in Ash's position if he did

"he left us?"

"he ran for it!"

"run everybody lets get out of here"

after finding out Ash was missing, everyone went into a panic, Gray unable to calm them down could only watch as each one of them ran left and right trying to escape.

"look at them run hee hee hee! ah? are you the only ones who want to play?"

rumia chuckled at the thought of playing hide and seek even if she is a man eating youkai, she still had the mind of a little girl, she then sees only 3 students in front of her.

Gray stood in front of the little girl who had just finished devouring the other student's arm unable to move or flinch as though he was but a statue, paralyzed by fear of the sight in front of him, the little girl who he was talking to awhile ago slowly walks towards him with blood red eyes, her teeth sharp that it will tear his flesh from bone.

"what am i gonna do?... i cant move... i dont wanna die!" this words were only in his thoughts, the paralyzing sensation of fear, stops him from even uttering a word

"trying to act like a hero huh Gray?

"keh! its not like we are making it out of here"

"..."

Gray gasped as two of his classmates with planks of wood in hand stood beside him patting him on the shoulders, Jack and Peter these two students could have ran along with the other students hoping to escape the girl in front of them.

"we can at least give the others time to escape"

"we outnumber her! 3 to 1 we can beat her, here!"

jack tries to assure Gray that they can be like heroes giving people time to escape like in the movies they watch, Peter then gives him a plank of wood to use as a weapon to fight the little girl.

The two brave students stood their ground and offered their lives so that the others could escape.

There was fear in their eyes, they are clearly scared but despite that they are willing to sacrifice themselves so that the others can escape in time

"yeah... i guess we can"

"hah..we can do it, lets go!"

"yaaahhh!"

with a sigh of relief Gray regained a bit of confidence, knowing that their chances against a single 'monster' is high because of their numbers, if the girl would try to attack one of them the other would come to their side and help, this he thought to himself there was no way a little girl even though she is a monster would be able to fight back against a 3 on 1 fight, he tried to fight his fears that is now signalling him to run away.

they charged to attack the girl flanking her with weapons raised, this battle would clearly be in the student's favor they know this they can feel this, as soon as their wooden planks hit her on the head the battle is won... they were wrong. the little girl did not flinch, instead she charges at Jack with a childish laugh, as Jack swings the plank aiming at the little girl's head hoping it will be enough to stun her instead it breaks as it come in contact with the girl.

It was no use.. Physical attacks could not harm her, Jack's attack would have been enough to knock a grown man out but the little girl called Rumia did not flinch nor was she phased by the attack.

Jack could not defend himself as both hands were still gripping the other end of the wooden plank now broken the little girl is a second away from his neck... it was the end for him, as Peter rushes to attack the girl and come to Jack's aid, Gray stood frozen looking at another grim scene as the girl bites Jack's neck.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

"k..k...urgh.."

Jack could no longer speak as blood piles up in his mouth, half of his neck torn, there was no chance for him anymore.

"grrr! arrrr!"

Peter attacks the girl hoping to knock her out hoping she will release her grip off Jack to no avail, instead she turned her attention at Ray lunging towards him mouth still filled with blood, Ray managed to keep her away by extending his arms holding her away by the shoulders.

"TCH! YOU MONSTER!... GRAY! HELP!"

"..."

Gray was flabbergasted, the girl is but child yet is somehow pushing towards Peter despite being held away at arms length almost as though she was pushing the air itself behind her to get closer.

-ba-dum- Gray stood looking at the sight in front of him

-ba-dum- his heartbeat was the only thing he could hear

-ba-dum-

"this cant be" –ba-dum- "Jack is gonna die" –ba-dum- "i dont wanna die"

"GRAY! GRAY!

"huh!?

"SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Gray can hear Peter yelling at him but he cant move, the sight of seeing Jack's dying body sapped out the confidence he barely mustered and instilled even more fear into him

"..i dont wanna die..." these words were only things he could think of,

"...i dont wanna die.." he could barely hold his breath as his breathing becomes more erratic

"...we are gonna die.." as he looks at the dying Jack who is slowly losing consciousness

"...ggggrrrraaaaaAAAAYYYYYY!" Peter yells for Gray to help him as Gray looks at the Peter struggling to keep the little girl away from him but he is slowly losing his strength.

Gray stomps his foot on the ground as he runs to help Peter

"..."

But Gray was stopped by the bloodthirsty gaze the little girl gave him. locking his eyes at her blood red eyes glaring at him.

The words "I WILL DIE!" entered Gray's thought once again with a great chilling sensation.

Gray did what he thought he could never do, what Ray thought Gray would never do, as Peter's eyes widen to cruel fact... Gray ran away.

"YOU?! GRAY!"

Peter's screams echoed as Gray runs as fast as he can hating and even cursing himself.

"COWARD!" he says to himself unable to accept what he did, to leave a classmate, a friend, a fellow human being behind to die. how can he? it was the only sane option he could think of, he argues with himself as he runs through the dark forest.

before long he hears a girl scream somewhere in the forest, following where the sound came from, he finds a gruesome scene.

one of his classmates is being devoured by a wierd creature, the creature unlike the one before who had the appearance of a little girl, this one was different, an imperfect butterfly?, with a beak of a bird yet still having the body of a caterpillar, but the wings of a bird, it was still in the process of devouring the corpse of Gray's classmate, Gray knowing there is nothing he could do tries to leave but as he stepped back he alerted the creature who turned its attention to him.

"..!"

Gray gasped as the creature crawled/flew its way towards him, its wings trying to boost itself toward him faster, Gray ran as fast as he can using the trees as way to keep the monster occupied, as he ran, a searing pain etched at his heart, he had wondered what had happened to the others as they ran, he knew that just like the poor classmate who got eaten by the monster that is chasing him now they are probably dead.

he ran and he ran as the monster nears, he trips near a set of stone stairs that leads up somewhere, the monsters bursts from the forest rolling across the pavement near the stairs finally catching up to him.

"crap! all the way here?!"

out of frustration he yelled at the beast who is now getting up, noticing this Gray ran up the stone stairs hoping there will be something that can stop it or some place where the beast cant follow.

running up the stairs he can see an archway at the top, hope suddenly filled him once more as he nears the top however, his legs gave away as he almost fell back down the tall set of stair back to the monster who was making its way to catch up to him.

"i...was..almost..there"

fatigue has set in, Gray after running for who knows how long leaving his classmate behind and from a monster who had just devoured another one of his classmate, could only lie down and look up to the dark sky.

"yeah...i guess this is punishment then.."

he lies there filled with regret for ever suggesting to go explore the cave, and for leaving his classmate behind, as the monster hovers above him slowly opening its mouth to devour him.

"im..gonna...die...alone.."

his vision fades, his eyes grow tired as the monster's mouth nears but from out of nowhere 4 paper talismans hits the creature it wreathes in pain and back away but Gray was too tired all he saw was 4 flashes of light and image of a person standing near him wearing a red and white dress..

"hmm...ahhh..."

Gray could swear he was dead but he can feel the warmth of the sun's rays, the feeling of sleeping on top of a soft pillow.

"a dream?" he thought to himself as he slowly opens his eyes to see a familiar face looking after him.

"Gray? Graaaayyyy?..he's waking up!"

"that voice..."

a voice that made him feel at ease, as if all the things that happened were just a dream and that he was sleeping at the school nurse's office.

"Anna?"

"Gray, thank goodness you're ok"

It was Anna, she somehow managed to survive the entire ordeal.

Anna was a close friend of his, someone who has helped in whenever he was in a pinch back at school, they hang out during lunch and help each other with their assignments, her smile would always comfort him.

Gray was happy to see her, but then he realizes..they are not at school, nor are they in the nurse's office.

"where are we?"

looking around Gray knew that it wasn't just a dream, the place was a large room with tatami flooring, and shoji sliding doors, the bed he was sleeping on was a futon.

"i think its better if she explains it to you"

"she?"

Anna points to the one of the sliding doors opening as she is about to greet a girl wearing a unique japanese shrine maiden clothes with detached sleeves.

"Good morning... Hakurei, Reimu"


	3. Chapter 3

"Ah, so he's awake. Good morning Habara san and-"

"Gray, Gray Cutter."

"Cutter san.. welcome to the Hakurei Shrine my name is Reimu Hakurei."

The Shrine maiden called Reimu Hakurei waves her hair back as she introduces herself to Anne Habara and Gray Cutter.

Gray remembered some of Anna's stories back in her countries about shrine maidens but Reimu the shrine before him barely resembles the shrine maidens in Anna's stories, her outfit almost looked like from a shrine maiden but the detached sleeves exposing her shoulder and a big bow on her head.

"I managed to treat the cuts and bruises you had last night"

Gray then noticed several bandages around his arms and body and can still remember the monster that was about to devour him when he fell down on the stairs.

"But the monster-"

"I took care of it... i managed to exterminate it before it ate you."

Reimu casually tries to assure Gray that he is safe, from the way she said it, it seems as though she was already used to these kind of things not that Gray would know

"Then Anna?"

Gray still tired but frantic as to how Anna managed to make it to the Shrine, he was lucky enough to have survived the entire ordeal but he remembers seeing one of the classmates that ran ahead of him being eaten by one the monsters in the forest.

"The same way you did Gray, when i ran away with the others trying to find the cave we came from i got separated from them after seeing another one of those monsters, i just ran and before i knew it i was standing near the set of stairs going up to the Hakurei shrine."

Coincidentally Gray did the same thing Anna did, by mere chance or luck they came across the set of stairs that led them to Reimu.

"She collapsed after climbing up though, i then took her inside then thats when you showed up with that youkai about to eat you"

"Wait, youkai?"

Reimu paused at Gray's question, her face showed a hint of annoyance at the question as if she has explain this countless times.

"Youkai are creatures or ghost that can have certain magical qualities, there are different types of youkai and the number of types can be endless"

"...what?"

"-"

For a moment a vein popped on Reimu's left temple from Gray's confused question she was probably hoping that explaining it that way was enough to help others get the idea of what youkais are

"Gray what she means is that Youkai are like what we call monsters, Youkai is a japanese term for japanese folk creatures and ghosts"

"There are also fairies, tengu, vampires and the like, unlike your world Youkai are more abundant here in a way you could say that they are the dominant species"

Reimu finishes Anna's explanation with a bit of her own.

"So the little girl me and Anna encountered back in the forest was a youkai too?"

"Yes, Rumia is a man eating youkai of darkness, you two had the misfortune of encountering her on your first few minutes in Gensokyo-"

"But when we ran there were other youkai that looked more like a mix of plants and animals"

"Rumia is not the only man eating youkai as most of them do eat humans but not on a daily basis."

"Wont you do anything about it?"

"There are lots of youkai hunters in the village who do their best to protect themselves and the village from those types of youkai.

She sounded uninterested her tone changed a bit when she talked about the village.

"..."

The two had no more to say, they were suprised to even see each other after what they had encountered last night, Gray was even more silent, if it were not for Reimu he would have been in the belly of a beast by now, Anna on the other hand is just relieved that she managed to stay alive and knowing someone else survived.

"Right"

With that Reimu stood up and opens the sliding door leading to the Shrine's front porch its archway standing on the edge of the horizon showing a good view of the land called Gensokyo.

"If you two are ready i will be able to send you two back to your world.."

"...no"

"...no"

The two said in unison.

"...Tch!, why not!?"

Reimu lost her composure, she is probably cranky in the morning they thought.

"Do you two know what you just went through? both of you were lucky enough to make it to safety in time!, why would you stay?"

Like a mother worried about a child's safety Reimu clearly wanted them to go back to their world to avoid meeting the same fate as their friends last night.

"our friends are still out there, if Anna was able to make it to safety then there is a chance the others could be safe as well"

"at the very least we want to know if our friends are ok Reimu san"

Anna is alive, what's stopping the others from being alive as well that's what we thought, the possibilities were slim but we held out to that hope that our friends are still out there somewhere safe

"..."

Reimu calmed down as Gray and Anna gave their reason to stay.

"so there are still more of yo-"

-CRASH-

Just as Reimu was about to finish her next question something rammed her from out of nowhere..

"YOW! REIMU!"

As the dust clears a cheerful girl wearing what seemed to be a witch's outfit was sitting on top of the downed shrine maiden greeting her while laughing to herself or to the poor shrine maiden she just rammed to the ground.

"wew! didnt know it could go that fast hahah"

she sat there on top of Reimu as she mutters to herself about something, she was probably referring to that small device she took out from her broom when she landed on top of Reimu.

"Marisa...GET OFF ME!"

"eh? whoa-!"

Reimu pushed the girl called Marisa aside trying to get back up on her feet, getting back up Marisa wrapped her arm around Reimu to her shoulder still gleefully laughing to herself.

"another success hahaha!"

"you seem to be proud of yourself what happened? oh, by the way this is Marisa, Marisa these two are Gray Cutter and Anna Habara"

Reimu raises one of her eyebrows at Marisa's declaration, Marisa probably keeps going to her to show off one of her accomplishments.

Reimu getting to the point introduces Marisa to the two students who are not used to seeing people flying or witches standing right before their eyes.

Marisa Kirisame, she had an air of confidence around her, her cheery and upbeat attitude from Gray and Anna's point of view contrasts Reimu's rather calm demeanor as they look at the two together there was no denying they are friends.

There was also no denying Marisa was a witch or a magician, she flew all the way to the Hakurei shrine on her broom, the clothes she wore were also reminiscent to what people cosplaying as a witch would wear during halloween.

"wow did you see that Gray"

"yeah she was flying alright"

The two students were amazed, they didn't expect to see something like what happened before them "a real witch?" They thought

"yow! Marisa Kirisame at your service, please to meet ya ze"

"these two as you may have already noticed are not really from here, they along with their friends ran into Rumia and those other man eating youkais last night"

"whoa! cool!"

Reimu paused for a moment as she bended her head murmuring to the upbeat Marisa seeing as how Marisa was being insensitive to the Gray and Anna's situation.

"...what?, hmm i remember seeing a few people wearing the same thing you two are wearing back in the village"

Marisa shared what she saw back in the village earlier today, Marisa was looking at Gray and Anna's uniform although ragged the white color of their polo/blouse was stained from dirt was still easy to differentiate from what the humans in Gensokyo usually wear.

"really? that could be our friends Gray, Marisa san can you take us to the village?"

Reimu stayed silent, she would have objected letting the two go to the village or anywhere else in Gensokyo seeing as Gray and Anna should be returning to their world, they would most likely endanger themselves if they continue to stay, but after hearing what Marisa said about there being more of them back in the village, she thought it would be ok to let them meet up so that she can send them all back to their world in one go.

"i dont think her broom can handle more than one passenger Anna"

The broom Marisa was carrying was longer than her by a few meters but there was no way a single broom could handle the weight of three humans. thats what they thought at least

"NONESENSE!"

Marisa twirls her broom and with a loud thud stomps other end of it at the ground her face brimming with confidence and a sparkly smile, Reimu just looks at her from the side with an embarrassed expression.

"Marisa the ordinary black magician can fly you anywhere, anytime ze!...but for a fee"

"MARISA!"

"what?...ohh fine!"

Marisa for a moment tried to take advantage of the two but was stopped because of Reimu

Gray and Anna hopped aboard the broom sitting behind Marisa

"alright you two hold on hehe you might fall off on the way, hey Reimu i almost forgot, something was going on in the forest of magic earlier over there"

"yeah i got it, before you go do you have anything to donate?"

Reimu casually acknowledges the information Marisa gave her while extending her arm and opening her palm asking for a donation to the shrine.

-smack-

Something was thrown at Reimu's face she closed her eyes out of reflex, she took it out and held it and opens her eyes to see what it was.

"...a mushroom..."

"heehee see ya Reimu!, hold on you two"

with a loud roar along with a flash of light coming from the broom the three went off.

the feeling was amazing for the two, it felt as though they were piloting an airplane that was just about to take off, Anna closed her eyes and held Gray tight around the waist, Gray felt her embrace and which was like he was in heaven for a moment but it was short lived as he tried to shield himself from looking forward afraid that some dirt or a stray bird will hit his face blinding him and possibly letting him slip off the broom by keeping his head behind Marisa's back.

Reimu sees them off it was looking at a shooting star from where she was standing, she gave a small sigh and set herself to investigate the forest of magic according to what Marisa said.

"...you could have at least cooked it"

munching on the mushroom Marisa threw at her she tries to gather the information she got from the two students .

"hmm the forest of magic and a cave huh?, its worth checking out"

Reimu mutters to herself as she finishes the mushroom and fixes the bow on her head as she slowly flies towards the direction where the forest of magic is located

"you better not have anything to do with this...Yukari"

Yukari, a name that fills her thoughts with things she cannot explain it urks her, Yukari is someone important to her, she is also one of the major powers in Gensokyo, one who has been around ever since the creation of Gensokyo, whenever things that concerned the outside world Reimu and most other youkai would think of it as her doing, in some cases the incidents that occurred around Gensokyo is presumed to be her doing as well...the Youkai of Boundaries.

flying in the air with Marisa the two were able to get a good view of Gensokyo, the burst of speed that they experienced when they started the flight was actually Marisa showing off one of her moves to Reimu

"WOOWW!, Gray look over there a field of sunflowers"

"-!"

"and that mountain it reaches up all the way up the clouds"

"-!"

"Gray?"

"hahah afraid of heights arent you kid?"

"im more afraid of falling! and who you calling kid? you look just about the same age as me"

Gray could barely keep himself steady on the broom, he couldnt find a nice riding position that doesnt make him feel uncomfortable on the groin.

"hahah anyway we are almost near the village, that field of sunflowers? thats the Garden of the sun ohh you dont wanna go picking flowers there"

"why not?"

"lets just say the gardener wont like that...and thats theforest of magic there where i live hehe-"

"-you live there alone Marisa san?"

"no~, i have a friend who also lives there, we meet up sometime"

"who?"

"haha you'll meet her soon enough she is a magician who specializes in using dolls"

"wow!"

"she also does some puppet shows in the human village on occasion, if you're lucky she might be there when we get there"

"i look forward to it, then what about that mountain?"

Anna point to a mountain on the far side, it was so high that it reaches over the clouds and beyond, from where they are the mountain looks so beautiful with a huge waterfall flowing from one of its springs and a lush green forest at the base of the mountain that extends far and wide around the mountain

"ah the youkai mountain the moriya shrine is located there at the base of the mountain is the great youkai forest, there are tengus, kappas and even gods"

"physical gods?"

"you got it!"

From afar they can see several figures flying around the mountain but those were not birds, as Anna looks closer she sees them a few girls who look to be in their teens as well flying with wings like that of a crow or raven, focusing on her sights at the top part of the mountain she can see a shrine much bigger than the Hakurei shrine situated there. Anna couldn't see any one there but then they are pretty far away and the youkai mountain was not their destination

"..."

while Anna and Marisa talk about the locations in Gensokyo Gray just held tightly on Marisa's waste hoping they arrive at the village soon and the flight ends. he closes his eyes trying to get his mind off the situation while as it is for him to fly and look at the locations of Gensokyo from afar like what Anna is doing, the only thing he occupied his mind was the thought of Anna holding him by the waist, his mind started to think of something else as his hands that were wrapped tightly around Marisa's waist.

"whoa!...oh, whoa there dont poke that sword at my back"

"ga-!"

"Gray whats wrong?"

"u-h its nothing i just want to get back on the ground"

"suuurrree youuu dooo~ Gray kun hahah"

Marisa teases Gray as his face grew red with embarassment while Anna looks on dumbfounded, to her Marisa is just having fun teasing Gray.

The three finally made it to the village, its not really an impressive place, it looks more like a japanese community in the rural parts of the country, not like Gray would know anything about that since he does not live in japan, Anna on the other hand has some knowledge about it.

they landed at the center of the village, normally people flying on a broom would cause some on alarm in the real world but in this world they just ignore it like its an everyday occurence, the village square was bustling with activity not only humans were present but a number of youkai were present as well.

"well here is where we go our separate ways see ya later Anna chan"

"nice meeting you Kirisame san"

"and see you too Gray kun fufu"

Marisa face curls into a mischevious smile as she says goodbye to Gray

"g-!, yah...see ya"

Gray's face turns red but still tries to say good bye to her casually

Marisa hops on back on the broom hovering above a few meters above them

"oh and Gray, this broom can be good for doing other things you know~"

She says that while sliding the broom between her legs from one end of the broom to the other.

"aagh-! just SHU-"

"hahahhah"

With a mocking laugh and a burst of light she flies away way up into the sky, before long the two could not differentiate where she is as they can only see a small dot in the sky like a stray bird flying from afar.

"wait a minute, do we even know where the others are in this village?"

"Marisa told me they were on the residential area up north from the village square"

"what? when?

"just awhile ago while going here"

because Gray was not paying attention to what Marisa had to say back in the flight, there could have been good chance where they would have been lost in the village, though unlikely since Marisa did confirm they had the same clothes as what Gray and Anna were wearing the villagers would fine the resemblance and help them on the way, but luckily Anna knew saving them some time the village square was filled with activity humans selling food on one side, and from each opposite end two girls promoting their shrine or religion to the villagers and to the other youkai, Gray and Anna were unsure if they should trust any of the youkai considering what happened when they met that little girl called Rumia back in the forest but this time its different the youkai that were roaming around the square and selling merchandise all looked friendly and easy to approach.

"they all look so friendly~, look that girl with the bunny ears she's soo cute~"

"come on Anna we have to look for our friends so we can get out of here"

"...you're right.."

Anna gave a disappointed sigh as they move north to the residential area hoping to find their friends, as they walked north a villager calls for their attention.

"are you two from around here?"

An old man walking in the street came up to them asking if they were resident in the village, the answer was pretty clear just by looking at them, the difference with their clothing was too great, the clothes the villager was wearing looked like a kimono.

"yes we arent why?"

"hmm we rescued some kids from the forest of magic, they were running away from man eating youkais lucky we arrived in time"

Could it be them? There was no doubt about it, there couldn't possibly be any one beside them being at the forest last night, and the ones who ran away must have been the ones that they rescued.

"thats them! do you know where they are?

"yes, we gave them a place to stay and treated their wounds, they should be having breakfast, come with me now"

"ahh we forgot our manners my name is Anna Habara and my friend over here is Gray Cutter please to meet you."

"those are nice names, my name is Yoshida, Kenshin pleasure to meeat you Habara san, Gray san"

The elderly man offered to show them to the place where their friends are, which they agreed and followed the man, Anna forgot to introduce themselves along the way and who the old man was they learned each others name and proceeded forward

They followed him along the path further north until they reached the residential area of the village, it was tranquil and peaceful, some villagers can be seen taking their children to a school somewhere, while the houses that they live were not as extravagant as the ones back in their world it was enough to shelter the villagers without bother.

"your friends are lucky, not many would come back alive from the forest of magic without knowing anyway to battle them youkai"

"you battle youkai?"

Battling youkai? Just from hearing the word got Gray excited the thought of fighting back youkai and saving people excited him, part of him wanted to know how to fight because of how he regretted leaving Ray behind to be eaten by Rumia, Gray hoped that someday he can redeem himself.

"hah! this old man can barely run, we heard people screaming from the forest so we gathered some able hunters to see what was the ruckus, the hunters arrived back in the village with your friends."

"thank you"

Anna thanks the old man, she felt grateful to what the old man and the village did for them, even if it was out of duty or mere coincidence she would still be grateful

"huh? heh dont thank me, its what we do"

The elderly man tried to hide his face from Anna he felt happy for being thanked by the girl but still had some pride left in him .

As Anna and the old villager talk Gray was too busy looking at the other youkai most of them looked like girl in their teens, he couldnt help but take a glance at each of the youkai he sees.

"wow, they're pretty..? .g-!"

As Gray admired the pretty youkai, the horrible image of Rumia eating one of his classmates flashed in his mind.

"kuh!, its over now Gray"

He mutters to himself, the events of the incident was still fresh in his mind, unlike the one they met last night these youkai don't seem like they have a reason to hurt him.

"yeah, hehe no need to get scared hehe"

-BUMP-

"gu-!"

Gray in his absent mindedness didnt see the girl that was coming out from a store and bumped into her

"~unyu~"

the girl was small her height was about as tall as to reach Gray's chin, but something was off about her to him, she had pale skin and white hair almost like an albino.

"ahh...uhh...sorry, i didn't see you there"

she stares coldy at Gray her blue eyes fixed on him as Gray's eyes shift from left to right hoping to not catch her glare.

"is this girl gonna kill me?, those swords don't seem like they are just for trees"

He thought to himself evidently shaking at the thought of being cut to pieces by the two katanas she carries with her

"..sigh..thats ok..just watch where you're going next time"

She says as she closes her eyes calming herself, her voice was cute but somehow had an air of command on it Gray couldn't say anything in reply.

The girl goes on her way passing by him, Gray felt a cold chill as the girl passes by him making shiver for a moment.

"myon cmon its time to go"

"myo wha GAAHH!?"

As the girl calls out for something, Gray muttered to himself but as he was about to finish a transparent ghost like ball phased through the door where the girl came out from and went pass through him

"wtf is that?"

He thought to himself still shivering, the ghost like ball was extremely cold it just went through his stomach and back going to the girl, though it was quick the ghost felt like a giant gust of cold air.

"ok, the sooner i get home the better, damn! those two went off without me i gotta catch up"

Gray wanting to delay no more time runs and catches up with Anna and Yoshida.

they continued moving across the residential area of the village the old villager then stopped in front of a big wooden house.

"here we are, its not much but its the best we could do to take care of your friends."

the old villager might seem too modest, compared to the other wooden houses they walked passed by this one was bigger and was more maintained its almost like a mansion.

"i shall leave you two then, if there is anything you wished please see me at the elder's lodge"

"thank you Yoshida san"

"thank you Yoshida sir"

they bid farewell to Yoshida as he walks back into the busy parts of the village, they then get ready to go inside and meet up with their friends.

"you said sir instead of san didnt you Gray?"

"well, im not used to that style yet"

"i guess you aren't"

"lets go in"

they open the door, inside the house was no joke the house was well maintained and polished from the inside out the main room a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. a doorway that leads to the dining area on the other side of the room

"Gray?, Anna?"

"Layla!"

"Layla!"

A familiar face came out from the doorway leading to the kitchen it was Layla, Layla Arondight one of the students who went with the group to look inside the cave, from her appearance she probably was able to find the youkai hunters patrolling the woods first seeing as she her uniform was not as ragged as Gray and Anna's

"it really is you guys!, everyone look!"

from the dining area several of their classmates came out cheering and greeting them as if they hadnt met up with each other in ages.

"GRAY, ANNA! Wow you guys are ok!"

The others peeked from the door and were surprised to see Gray and Anna safe they rushed to the two and celebrated

-grumble-

"hahah you guys must be hungry, come on there is enough for all of us"

"where did you guys get the food?"

"the villagers came prepared the table and gave us something to eat"

They weren't kidding, as Anna looks across the room she saw the food on the table, it was so many that it could be considered a feast.

"what are you guys waiting for? Come on lets eat!"

"ahh you guys go ahead i need to place this somewhere"

Anna and others being hungry goes to the dining area while Gray stays for a bit unties his shoes.

"...sigh.. Layla, Riza, Anna, Santos, Carl, Arthur and me.."

As Gray sat down to tie his shoes the memory of what happened still plagued him, he felt that he was the reason the others are here and felt regret over what happened of the 14 classmates that came with him to check inside the cave only a few remain.

"Arthur is alive.."

Gray saw Arthur as they came out of the dining area to greet him and Anna.

He saw Arthur missing an arm, what was in its place instead were bandages that were wrapped around whats left of Arthur's arm.

tch!- Gray got frustrated thinking about it, Arthur shouldn't have lost his arm after all if Arthur didn't become impatient and tried to talk to Rumia last night Gray would have been the one instead.

Gray then puts down his shoes on the side near the door outside.

"its fine...as long as we are together we are going to be fine."

Knowing that they are together puts him at ease for a bit.

"i'll do what i can to help them make it out of this place"

They can actually go home if they wanted to now, the reason why Reimu let them go to the village instead of forcing them out of Gensokyo was so that she could do it in one go, at least thats what Gray thought.

"...out of the 14 of us only seve-!"

-bam!-

something struck Gray on the face, the impact of the blow was so strong that it flew him to the wall on his right

"g-!"

All he could see were white blanks blocking his vision, something was standing in front of him.

"gaa-!..."guu-!"

The figure grabbed his shirt from the neckline and threw him to the wall on the other side.

"make that seven...you damn coward!"

That voice? It sounded familiar, but thats impossible there was no way anyone could survive from that. Gray slowly open his eyes, the tall figure standing before him, covered in bandages he looks down on Gray with an angry face.

"...Peter!?..."


	4. Chapter 4

Peter stood there looking at Gray with hateful eyes, Most of his body is covered in bandages as he raises his fist to strike at Gray who was struck down by his surprise attack.

"STOP!"

A distant cry was heard from the other side of the room near the dining area.

Anna, Riza, Layla, Santos and Arthur rushed as soon as they heard the sound that was coming out from the living room .

"...tch" Peter gritted his teeth as he lowers his stance.

"...ok.." he said still filled with hate as he distances himself away from Gray

Riza, Layla and Santos rushed to Gray checking if he is alright, or if there is any severe damage he took from the beating.

"Gray you alright?"

"-g, yeah" Gray said weakly as he fumbles trying to get up.

Riza and Santos then help him get up and carries him to one of the wooden chairs in the living room.

"What was that all about?" Anna said looking at Peter clearly angry by what he just did to Gray

"keh, that coward should have at least stood his ground." Peter's bitter words came out as he recalls the event that happened last night.

"..."

Anna immediately knew what Peter meant, but she could not argue with him given the fact that she ran as well along with the others.

She was lucky to be even alive, the group she went with had an encounter with another man eating youkai that was when she separated herself from them running away she was no different from the others.

"..im sorry..." Anna lowers her head as she apologizes to Peter

She had nothing to say, she couldn't say anything that will erase Peter's anger, it was foolish for him and Jack to even stand up to the man eating youkai Rumia but it was also admirable to her.

".!?" Peter was surprised he expected her to find some sort of retort trying to prove him wrong instead Anna apologizes to him hoping that he will forgive Gray.

This angered him even more but he had no reason to lash out to her as well, unable to bear with the anger that was swirling in him he hurried his way out of the house.

"Wait!" Anna tried to stop him but her words were ignored as Peter leaves.

She couldn't help but feel powerless towards Peter's anger, she was no better than all the others who ran, who wouldn't run from something like that she thought as the memories of the incident last night start to resurface.

"no, i must stay strong" she thought to herself, Anna shook her head trying to remove that feeling of helplessness. "Reimu probably found the cave we came from by now, at the very least i hope she will let us stay for awhile" her thought of going home worried her much like a child who wanted to stay in an amusement park during their first visit Anna wanted to look at the places Marisa showed her.

"Anna!" a voice came from the dining area.

"come on its lunch time!" it was Riza, one the classmates that survived the incident last night

Anna realized she doze off in thought for a while then as after the others checked to see if Gray was alright they then went back to the dining area leaving Anna to deal with Peter awhile ago

"ahh, ok Im coming" she said with a light smile as she joins the rest of the group eating lunch.

* * *

Deep in the forest far from the human village and a little farther from the Hakurei shrine near a large mountain range that looks as though it's more like a large wall or a dam as beyond the wide mounds of jagged rock and peaks lies a vast river stretching far and wide.

A girl wearing a unique red and white shrine maiden outfit with detached sleeves and a bow accessory Reimu Hakurei flies towards the edge of the forest near the mountain ranges.

"i guess this the spot.." she muttered to herself as she hovers herself down to ground level

Placing herself firmly on the ground she takes a moment to check her surroundings.

"-!?" Reimu took a step back distancing herself from a few patches of mushrooms.

"They went down this path, then when they arrived..." she muttered to herself as she steers clear of the mushroom and traces the steps the students took when they arrived to Gensokyo.

These mushrooms were not edible nor would they be safe to be nearby, they were poisonous and can also can hallucinations, but even though they are dangerous the hallucinogenic properties of the mushrooms can help increase magical potions or powers.

This was one of the reasons why this was called the forest of magic, in addition to the dangerous mushrooms that can be toxic to humans and can induce hallucinations to them if ever they breathe its noxious gas, there are also witch's that live somewhere in here secluded from the village one of them is The Ordinary Black Magician Marisa Kirisame.

A faint smile curled on her face as Reimu remembers the mushroom Marisa gave her as a snack – I guess I should thank her for not giving me a poisoned one – it was a dark joke but Reimu found some amusement in thinking about it.

"Here it is.." Reimu says as she stands in front of a cave near one the mountains that act as a border on the edge of the Forest of magic.

She waved her gohei in a circular motion, with a flash of light an orb which had the symbol of yin and yang was formed and completed as she finished the circular motions.

The yin-yang orb hovered near Reimu as she traversed deep inside the cave from which no light could reach, the orb slowly glowed as she delved deeper and deeper inside the seemingly endless cave.

"haaa- how long is this cave!?" She said, exasperated, Echoes repeated what she said about 4 times she didn't know how far the cave could extend.

Reimu finally stops walking as she feels a change in the air , the yin-yang orb that hovered in front of her which managed to light the path ahead of her can no longer reveal the path ahead of her.

Like a black hole from which no light could escape what stood in front of Reimu was utter darkness .

"tch!.. This is hers alright..." she muttered to herself, dejected, she knew who was responsible for this, but that wasn't the reason she was sad.

She turns her back from the void like hole that was in front of her as she makes her way out of the cave and back to the Hakyrei shrine.

The portal like hole which belonged to the youkai Yukari Yakumo, stood there deep in the cave forever opened, one can travel through the cave and not tell when they crossed the portal leading to the outside world or to Gensokyo unless they are aware or more alert of that fact.

Reimu had thought the reason Gray, Anna and their friends were in Gensokyo was because Yukari "gapped" them into Gensokyo as another means for her entertainment.

Yukari was known for being able to go to the outside world anytime with her power to manipulate borders using her gaps which serve as portals between two places, she would occasionally gap people who would then cause some trouble on Gensokyo due to their selfish impulses.

This was a different case, however, Gray, Anna and their classmates were not gapped willingly it didn't matter how many they were but the purpose for them coming to Gensokyo was what irked Reimu, they were sent to Gensokyo as food, much like the Road of Reconsideration which is near the Forest of Magic there is a blurred part of the border where humans from the outside world will accidentally travel to Gensokyo and it is also where another man eating youkai will wait for them.

Spirited away is what they were called, outsiders who are carried away by some mysterious force like, magic, there is a rule in Gensokyo wherein no youkai was allowed to eat a human residing in the human village, that rule was meant to keep the balance in Gensokyo that contrasted to how the outside world functions, the outside world where Gray and Anna came from is dominated by humans with their use of science and other technological advances youkai and myths were already being dismissed as mere tales meant for children, in Gensokyo however youkai dominate the land and there are only a handful of humans that reside in Gensokyo but youkai must eat in order survive even if they were to live for a 100 years or more they must feed at some rare times, that is also how Yukari's gaps work, the gaps are placed in the darkest or uninhabitable places in the outside world where no one could tell if you had disappeared, the outsider would then unknowingly wander into Gensokyo to be eaten by some of the youkai waiting for them.

"Kuh! I don't want to deal with this... Im going back home" Reimu said in frustration, there was nothing she could do for them, they were meant to be food, but they were lucky enough to survive, now that they live and are somewhere in Gensokyo they might threaten the balance if they learn how to unlock their powers.

Reimu closed her eyes as she tries to calm herself down while flying back to the Hakurei Shrine.

"If they plan on going back home then i will help them but if they decide to stay..." Reimu cuts her thoughts as she clears her mind hoping that the students will make the right choice.

* * *

Back in the human village a man filled with hate wanders aimlessly around the village trying to clear his mind, "we outnumbered that girl, why did they run!?" still thinking about the incident Peter thought that their chances of winning the fight against the man eating youkai Rumia were supposedly high for them.

He was angry, a person as stubborn as him could only think about the past endlessly filling himself with more hate and regret, at some point he would feel happy to be alive at least along with his classmates, but he couldn't let that anger go and the scene of Gray leaving him to die kept replaying across his thoughts that he can't help but clench his fist and grit his teeth each time he thinks about it.

-bump-

"oomf!"

With his constant brooding Peter Cruz paid no attention to where he was going and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Byakuren sama, are you ok?" Peter could hear a voice near the person he just bumped into but he could not tell who it was as he kept his head down hoping the person he bumped into did not get angry.

This was not the place he was born into, he did not know how people would react if they would get mad, from what he could tell most of the people that lived in the village were strong youkai hunters, he can still remember the hunters from the village that came to save him in time from the youkai Rumia, he felt indebted to them and hold them in high regard because of this.

"I—I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where i was going." Peter said, lowering his head, trying to avoid looking at the people in front of him.

"You should watch where you're going mo—"

"-its ok Shou chan"

"..Byakuren sama.." the gentle voice dismisses the harsh one that was directed towards Peter.

A woman with long light brown, multicoloured, wavy hair stood up in front of Peter, she gave a feeling of a warm and gentle person, Peter looked at her in awe as if he was looking at a saint, she was no ordinary woman he usually saw back in their world, but then so was every other person he saw in Gensokyo, she looks as if her age is about twenty years of age but she gives off a feeling of an elder, at a glance she looks like a simple pious woman.

Byakuren Hijiri, the chief priest of the Myouren temple, situated near the human village, she was in the middle of preaching or gathering more followers to her faith until Peter inadvertently bumped into her.

Beside her was a high priest of the Myouren temple Shou Toromaru, from a glance she did not seem like an ordinary human, she was not a human to begin with she is actually youkai but from the pattern of her clothing she appears to have an affiliation with a tiger, she kept her calm composure as soon as Byakuren assured her she was ok.

"you poor thing, great anger dwells within you.." Byakuren said looking at Peter

"kuh!?.." Peter was surprised to hear her say, "how could she know?" he thought he was already stressed as it it but with this he got so confused that he could not even think of a comeback or to pick himself back up to run away.

He slowly raised his head gathering the strength to at least tell her to back off but what he saw caught him by surprise.

Byakuren, much to Shous suprise extends her hand to Peter.

"Byakuren sama? What are you doing?" Shou said in response to Byakuren's gesture to the human who bumped into her earlier.

"If you wish, I can help you.." Byakuren said with a sincere smile she could feel Peter's anger and genuinely wished to help him let go of it if he was willing to.

"..ku-!?.. w-whhy would you be willing to help me?" Peter said with his voice trembling unable to understand the woman's kindness to him, an outsider.

Byakuren did not say anything instead she just gave Peter a sincere smile while holding her hand out to him.

She of all people should know why outsiders are not to be trusted, there were many times back in the past of how outsider flaunted their abilities for their own selfish reasons, but even while knowing this she still wanted to help him, she could feel his anger towards youkai, specifically the youkai Rumia and to an extent a fellow outsider, his classmate Gray Cutter.

Peter accepted her offer, as he places his life on her hands hoping that he can find meaning to her kindness.

"Shou chan, i think its time we go back to the temple"

"Yes Byakuren sama" the two girls exchanged a few words as Byakuren holds Peter's hand tightly

"agg—whats the? Whoooaaah!"

"ah you are not used to flying yet, im sorry but please hold on"

Peter wrapped his arms around Byakuren's waist as soon as his feet started to float above the ground

how do these guys fly?- Peter said in his thoughts panicking while holding on to Byakuren's waist as if his life depended on it.

"Byakuren sama" are you sure about this?" The woman named Shou said as she flies near Byakuren who is holding Peter firmly near her waist, she felt worried that the outsider will be a danger to them if Byakuren brings him to the temple.

"it will be alright Shou" she said without hesitation as they fly towards the Myouren temple

Shou was worried that Byakuren's kindness will get the better of her, she has always been kind to both humans and youkai which is also the reason why she got into trouble and was sealed away years ago, The humans years ago thought she was some kind of demon, coercing and helping youkai instead of exterminating them, thinking she was a demon in disguise they sealed her away.

Her kindness paid her back in the end, as Shou and other youkai that Byakuren helped in the past combined their efforts to unseal her along with the help of Reimu Hakurei, Marisa Kirisame and Sanae Kochiya.

"..."

Shou kept quiet telling herself that she must trust Byakuren's judgement, as they finally arrive at the Myouren temple.

They hovered down landing firmly on the temples stone path.

Peter frantic to touch land again jumped back the moment he felt he was at least a meter from the ground.

"wew! That was sort of fun" he said trying to hide his fears from them, Peter was scared of falling down and flying isn't exactly what could be called normal in the real world.

"fufu you will get used to it" Byakuren said covering her laugh with her hand "this way if you will." She then shows Peter the way to the temple.

The Myouren temple, it was situated near the outskirts of the human village, unlike what he saw in the human village where most of it appears to be an old fashioned eastern village the temple was extravagant with stone pathways leading to its main door and the stair leading up to the temple, it was large situated atop platform like structures made from stone and with a garden.

"-!?" to Peter's surprise there were a youkai situated in the temple courtyard.

"you have nothing to fear, they are devoted to not seek violence" Byakuren said whispering to Peter but even then it was not enough to lower his tense feelings.

The encounter with Rumia last night was traumatic for him, he almost died, he would have died if it were not for the youkai hunters who made it in time, the bandages he wore was proof for him that youkai are dangerous but he couldn't say anything to her.

From a distance near the shrubs of the temples garden one of the youkai could a faint presence of fear and anger, this feeling excited him, he had thought he would not get this kind of sensation after devoting himself to the Myouren temple but the youkai did, he looks at the stone pathway near the grand stairway that leads to the temple.

*a human!?* he said in his thoughts as a great sensation of hunger starts to overwhelm him "haaa-, haaa- graaa-!" unable to control his urge he charges toward the human Byakuren and Shou is escorting, the youkai became a mad beast and obeyed his basic desire to feed.

"Byakuren sama! Look out!" Shou who lingered behind to take a look at the temple's gardens calls out to Byakuren who is in the way of the mad youkai charging towards Peter.

*shit!* Peter said in his thoughts as he sees the youkai getting closer to him but then.

*stomp*

*pow*

Byakuren stomped the ground and attacked the charging youkai, delivering her elbow at the youkais abdomen sending it flying towards the temple courtyard walls.

*whoa! what kind of girl is she?* Peter said standing perfectly still trying to understand how the woman was able to repel the youkai.

"..how repulsive..." Byakuren said her voice containing bits of sadness, "Ichirin!"

"yes?, Byakuren sama" a girl carrying an largering around wearing a nun's headdress came forward along with an unusual purple coloured cloud floating near her.

"please take this youkai away, it seems he has fallen"

"Yes! Byakuren sama.. Unzan!" the girl wearing a nun's headdress named Ichirin complied and started talking to the purple cloud

"Yes!"

Peter was surprised as he heard the purple cloud talk in a booming voice as its clouds start to form a pair of hands and lifts the unconscious youkai and carries it out of the temple courtyard.

"I am very sorry, the youkai here truly do wish avoid hurting humans" Byakuren said lowering her head apologizing to Peter after seeing Ichirin and Unzan off.

Byakuren Hijiri will accept taking in Youkai and humans to join her faith, her reputation among youkai has managed to earn her plenty of followers but its also because of that her followers are composed mostly of youkais instead of human, because of her affiliation with youkai many humans are afraid to join despite her genuine desire to seek harmonious relations between the two species. Many youkai that do join genuinely wish not to seek violence and there have been those who join her to avoid conflict with other humans.

Peter did not care if they came he hated youkai, the death of his friend jack from last night is what cemented it for him, but he saw an opportunity to learn how to fight back.

"please.. teach me!" Peter said as he bowed in front of Byakuren "i want to know how to fight back, i don't want to be a weakling who cant fight for himself" he pleaded to her to teach him how to fight, the image of Jack dying and being unable to fight back the man eating youkai last night filled his thoughts as he pleaded.

"I cannot" she replied immediately, she could feel Peter's hate and worries how that will cloud his judgement, there was a time she had used her powers for personal gain, but in due time she learned how to use her powers so that it could benefit others.

"..."

*this human* she thought to herself *for the same selfish reason he wants to learn how to fight*

"that is enough!, Byakuren sama said no" Shou spoke out as she takes Peter away

"no, wait!" Byauren spoke as Shou forcibly tries to get Peter out of the courtyard, "i will train you, but on two conditions: you must devote yourself to our faith and you must not seek to harm anyone, human or youkai unless it is necessary"

*is she serious? What good would it do if you teach me but forbid me to test them on someone?* Peter was annoyed he wanted to learn from her because he wanted to get his revenge on the man eating youkai Rumia and Gray his classmate that abandoned him.

*kuh!, she will never teach me if i say no, but as long as she doesn't know i think it will work* he thought to himself as he thought of a way to get her to teach him how to fight like "Alright i promise"

"very good, before we begin you must learn the teachings of Buddhism"

*kuh this is gonna be rich* Peter said in his thoughts as Byakuren starts teaching him about the five precepts

* * *

Its still raining, it is still pouring, each day it gets heavier, trees sway haplessly at the mercy of the wind, branches break and litter the ground, the haunting howls of the wind fill the cave with an uneasy chill.

"those guys are taking to long!"

"calm down Micheal, it must be a deep cave"

"Are you fu**ing serious!?"

"just calm down and be quiet, you might wake Lisa and the others" Russel said while rubbing his hands near the bonfire

"too late, you already woke me up!" coming from the side of the cave Lisa woke up because of Micheal's rambling.

"sorry!"

"sorry!"

"quiet you two" the girl named Lisa shuts them up as she slowly gets herself up,.

The wound on her stomach which was stitched up by Layla managed to help her but if things don't get better she will probably die.

"whoa!, take it easy" Micheal said as he rushes to help Lisa get up.

"ssshh you two, i hear something" Russel interrupts them as he hears footsteps coming from inside the cave.

"their back?"

"their back?"

Micheal and Lisa said in unison as they run to look deep in the cave expecting to see the others.

"wait, isn't that?"

The figure looms slowly from the darkness revealing only one person.

"wait? Aren't you?"

"where are the others?"

Without answering their questions the dark figure snapped his fingers.

*PUNTURE*

"g-!" Russel grunted as he felt something red and hot somewhere in his abdomen, "—g!" what he saw was something he never thought he would ever see, a dark tendril like tentacle pierced right through him.

"RUSSEL!"

"RUSSEL!"

Micheal and Lisa could only look at him in shock

"don't worry you will be joining him" the dark figure said mockingly

From the darkness inside the cave patches of eyes started appearing and opening staring at the helpless student

"ru—"

*PUNCTURE*

Micheal's attempt to flee was cut short as another dark tendril came out from the darkness at frightening speed aimed piercing his through, with each tendril came another and another as a massacre ensues, tendrils coming from every dark part of the cave spawned and pierced every single student that was there.

"Micheal!" as Lisa screams the massive wave of tendrils pushed her aside.

Blood splatters everywhere as the figure was not content with simply killing them but to eviscerate every last single one of the students to pieces.

The rocky floor starts to dye the colour red as blood splatters and piles up, pieces of skin and bone scatter everywhere as the dark tendrils dance inside the cave using the six students that were left behind as a ragdoll with each swing the bodies became smaller and smaller.

Pieces of skin, entrails scattered, bloody bones with skin still attached to them, eviscerated heads that can no longer be identified as something that was once human were all that's left, and weeping in the corner of the mound of rock cowering away from the carnage was Lisa.

*...he didn't see me.. i have to get away* she thought to herself as she can see the sun's light shining signifying the storms end.

"ugg-!"

She could no longer run, she could not feel her legs, the nerves that let's her control her legs are precisely severed,

"hic...hic" Lisa started to cry

she could not crawl away, her right arm and her left leg were forcibly taken.

"hic...why?." Lisa asks while sobbing painfully with no hope left she starts to lose her strength.

she will die there's no doubt about that, she was lucky enough not to go in shock given how her arm and leg were forcibly taken but from the sadistic smile the dark figure has looking at her, she will wish she was dead by now.

"aaaahh...AAAAHHHH!" the dark tendrils wraps itself around her right leg as it forcibly pulls her back

"kehehe, that was no fun... but i bet you can entertain me a little more i didn't save you for last without a reason.." the dark figure laughs as he set his sights on the last student inside the cave, Lisa

"NOOOO! HELP MEEE-!" Lisa cries for help as she is dragged deep into the cave by the shadowy tendrils.

* * *

A quiet night enters the land of Gensokyo the stars glitter and shimmer across the vast clear dark blue sky.

The human village activities begins to subside as the evening begins, the residents take up their post in guarding the village perimeters and the children sleep soundly inside their homes.

On the northern section of the village where the large house the outsiders are currently lodged two of the outsiders a girl and a boy spend a moment near the balconies overlooking the neighbourhood.

"you know Gray, this place is kind of beautiful" The girl said gently leaning leisurely on the rails next to the boy looking over the village.

"yeah, if only there weren't any more of those that want to eat us" Gray said in response, half jokingly, he had never been in a place where electrical goods and appliance were not present to make things comfortable, he had always been accustomed to being able to relax on an air conditioned on a comfy bed watching tv or doing his homework but despite the inconveniences and the bits of culture shock he experienced while in Gensokyo, he found the place beautiful too, the fresh clean air uncorrupted by pollution, the sound of birds chirping, the absence of motor vehicles sounding their horns it was a bit tempting for him to forget going back to the real world but-

"we still need to get back home Anna, our parents are probably worried about us.." he still wishes to return home, it was hard for one to just abandon their family and everything they are accustomed to.

"yeah, I know, but Peter is still missing"

"he hasn't come back yet?"

"not since this morning after—"

"—I see..." Gray stopping her from finishing began to sink in a gloomy state as he continues to blame himself; Anna concerned tries to comfort him.

"it's ok now, Reimu probably found the cave we used to get hear"

"but—what about the others who can't go home?, they are dead because of me"

"You can't blame yourself for something that you had no control over, nobody could have predicted what would have happened, at the very least we are still here"

Anna said with gentle voice, she did the best she could to counter Gray's self deprecating words, it has always been that way for them, back then Gray would always go out of his way to help others but whenever he fails or falls short on his promises he would sink in a depressive state, Anna would always be there to cheer him up. She admired his desire to help others, but she is usually the person he looks up to for advice when something is bothering him and for answers during tests, they grew up together and overtime she began treating more of a brother than just a friend.

stop acting like that, be strong—she wished she could say this to him, she then looks up into the night sky but as she was left with nothing more to say Gray utters a weak thank you to her.

"Thanks Anna..."

Gray has always been grateful to Anna, being by his side whenever he is down, helping him get back up on his feet, even until now, she was like a sister to him but he never had a female relative the word *sister* had a different meaning for him, Anna has always been there for him, her gentleness, faith and virtue, even the way she talks appears so beautiful to him.

"hey you two!"

"oh, Layla, any news?...Gray!"

"...huh? eh?"

Layla came barging from the door about to tell them something, Gray for the moment was lost in thought as he stared blankly into space as Anna snaps back his attention.

"nah! We still haven't found him, i did manage to gather some herbs and got some medicine from a girl with... bunny ears hehe" Layla said showing them her bag filled with herbs and bottles.

The girl with bunny ears came across Layla asking around the village for medicine supplies, when the girl knew what Layla was looking for she approached her and offered to help her.

"naturally i was like uuuu~~ those ears!" Layla letting out a high pitched squeal as she recalls what took place.

"She was a little shy though, she kept avoiding eye contact with me, what was her name? Hmm Raisin? Haha noo~l, hmm ahh i remember, Reisen"

That name didn't ring a bell to Gray and Anna, they stayed inside the house for the whole day, Gray didn't have a choice seeing as he took a beating from Peter when he arrived, both of them just nodded and smiled as Layla continued.

"Anyway, here you go" she hands the bag full of medicine supplies to Gray

"huh? Why me?"

"because you are the only one of us who knows where the Hakurei shrine is, and I need Anna to help me with something." Layla says as she drags Gray out of the house

Anna did not object to what Layla said, she was curious to what Layla wanted to tell her, still, it was cruel of her to just let Gray go all the way back to Reimu all alone at night especially considering what could be waiting for him outside the village, but she remembered what Marisa told her on their way to the village.

"Gray if you go to the history school at the eastern section of the city, there might be somebody who could help you just go south until you reach the village square then turn left."

"oh and if you see buckets or wells don't go near them" Layla added

"why? Am i going to lose my head if i do?"

"..."

Gray retorted in a mocking manner but as he said those words Layla gave a grim expression

Tch! Is everything trying kill us? – Gray said in his thoughts as he makes his way downstairs to get out of the house, but as he nears the door leading outside in the first floor of the house, a rope suddenly sprung up and sent Gray dropping to the floor on his face

"ouch" he hit the floor hard but he lessened the impact of the fall by using his hands upon reflex to land firmly on the floor, as he lets out a sigh of relief he could a little girl laughing behind one of the chairs

"heeheehee"

"that kid!"

The child has always been playing tricks on everyone in the mansion, the others don't mind because most of her tricks are rather harmless, they even went as far as to give her a name, Lily.

That was a weird name to give a Japanese looking child, there was no doubt about her origin, a child wearing a kimono, an old fashioned bobbed haircut with flawless straight hair, according to what Layla and the others said she was already inside when they first got in almost as though she was the caretaker, when they asked the villagers who was she, they merely said she was a Zashiki-warashi, they bring good luck and fortune.

Fortune huh? – Gray scoffs at the idea of them bringing fortune considering how she endlessly played tricks on them the entire day "hey! What's the big idea?" Gray said calling the girl out on her tricks.

"hehehe where are you going oni-san" came her reply as she skipped happily near Gray

Oni-san - The little girl they named Lily frightened him, there was no denying her appearance she looks exactly like what an innocent little girl would look like but like a replay from last night he can see Rumia moving closer to him asking him if he was from the village, Gray couldn't help but back away from the little girl Lily out of fear.

"oni-san you're not leaving are you? I want to play~"

oni san she called him, Gensokyo is no doubt Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese names, Anna's ethnic root, he never got used to using honorific like chan, san, kun, sama, back then in the real world during lunch break Anna would occasionally call him kun but it bore no meaning to him seeing it as just her playful gestures.

"ahh, I'm just going out for awhile *oni san* will be back" Gray said as he pats Lily on the head, that was the first time he ever used an honorific.

"okay~, i will be waiting~" The little girl says cheerfully as she picks up the rope she used to trip Gray and ran off to the storage room.

Gray was thankful to the fact that she didn't do anything that borders on eating them, the pranks Lily keeps pulling off grew on him, even if it was just for a day, the little girl called Lily treated them like how a child would treat his/her family.

Heh time to get going Micheal and Russel are probably thinking we died or something – thinking stupid joke Gray let out a faint smile as he leaves the house and out into the village.

The atmosphere of the village is very different at night, the howls of the wind can be heard as soon as he exits the house, a cold chill runs up his spine when he sees the deserted path leading to the village square over the horizon in front of him is nothing but a dark end with faint glitters of light on the far end, there were no signs of life, the villagers are sleeping in their homes and the harmless youkai who were selling goods, or just playing pranks on humans are nowhere to be seen.

"Sigh. Ok, south and then east in the village square" repeating Anna's directions so that he would not forget, he musters the strength to move forward.

Each step he makes moving across the dark quiet village fills him with dread as he looks left and right the fear inside builds up with each passing moment, following Layla's advice he promptly avoided getting near any bucket or wells he came across, the cold air gives him the chills, the mist continues to slightly obscure his vision as his mind frantically thinks of every possible thing that could come out and eat him right then and there.

In addition to all his fears popping up in his mind, there is also a stinging feeling of being watched, no matter where how much he looked there is nothing there nor is there anybody looking at him, all he could see was the mist, he wanders forward but soon Gray completely forgot where he was, was he still at the northern residential area of the village or at the square?.

"tch! This mist!" Gray said exasperated, he didn't expect to be lost in a simple village, but the mist began to grow denser as each minutes pass.

He continues moving forward trying to find his way across the dense mist, but stops as he hears something from out of nowhere, the sound was eerie, it was as if something was slowly opening and closing between those he could he dozens of things screeching or itching in the distance but it slowly disappears as he hears the eerie sound of something closing, Gray looks around as he hears footsteps coming from his right, before he knew it a voice calls out to him from where the footsteps were heard.

"My, isn't it a little too early for you to take night walks?"

The mist starts to dissipate as lanterns start to light up revealing a woman sitting on a wooden bench.

"There, that's better, i trust you are enjoying your stay in Gensokyo Gray kun?" the woman asked, her dark golden eyes stares sharply at him.

As Gray looks around the now lit area he realizes he is already at the village square, now he only needs to turn left, but the woman's sharp stare could not be ignored

"...who are you?"

Gray has never seen nor has he met this woman before, yet she knows who he is.

"Ahh, where are my manners my name is Yakumo, Yukari"

Yakumo, Yukari, Gray felt a chill as she said her name, there was nothing ordinary about her, from her purple chinese-style tabard worn over a pale pink dress, to her cold dark golden eyes, an otherworldly aura emanated from her.

She is probably a youkai – that was Gray's deduction but it already seems obvious from the start, even as she just sat there, the lanterns around the village square lit up, there was no doubt about it but she was different, unlike the ones he saw last night and today who all look like girls below the ages of twenty or fourteen she had the appearance of a woman in her mid twenties

"It is rather admirable you and your classmates made it this far considering what you all went through last night" although her tone was soft there was an implicit meaning outside of it, mocking Gray and his classmates.

"you!?, how did you know about that?"

"fufufu, don't you remember the *bus* that almost crashed with the one you were all on?"

"-!?"

"I did this, It was a hassle but it turned out well enough fufufu"

Without feeling remorse or pity Yukari chuckles at Grays question as she proudly declares it was her doing.

"You and your friends were supposed to be youkai meat by now, how fortunate you all must be, to have made it safely to the human village."

"..."

Gray was grinding his teeth because he could not vent his anger nor could say anything against her out of fear that if he makes any rash decision he will probably be killed right on the spot, he could feel the woman's chilling aura emanate throughout the village square as if a crowd of eyes were staring at him.

"A pity, but it doesn't matter; sooner or later you and your friends will discover them in no time"

"Discover what?"

"Your powers..."

"What? How?"

Powers? Is she serious? – Gray scoffed at the idea of him having powers, but the thought excited him, if he had power he can actually be able to protect people, he and his friends won't have to be afraid of any man eating youkai, and He won't be forced to run away out of fear, just as he was pondering about the possibilities of what he could do with his powers the woman stood up as a portal open slowly opens up from out nowhere near her, the air began to fluctuate as a huge gust of wind blows from the portal looking at the portal was like looking up into space, it had eyes staring blankly at him, each end of the portal had a red ribbon tied to it much like the ones on her hair

"Like I said, you will discover them soon enough then the real fun will begin.." she said as she moves inside the portal now slowly closing.

"-?"

The portal vanished as soon as it closed like a wormhole to another dimension the air began to calm down, but just Gray was about to give out a sigh of relief that the woman named Yukari has left, he felt a change in the wind behind him, a thousand little screeches accompanied it as if a there was a swarm of insects behind him then the voice of Yukari whispered to him as she peeks out from the portal that suddenly appeared behind Gray.

"In the meantime, try to focus on staying alive, if you can hehehe."

"-g!?"

Gray turned around as soon as quickly as he could but there was nobody there.

"tch! I got no time for this" Gray said as he remembered he has to go back to the real world and give the medical supplies to Micheal and Russel, he gave out a sigh as he moves to the eastern part of the village.

"There, I think that's the school"

The building was rather small it had the same feel as the house he and the others were staying at, a giant signboard near the two wooden door entrance was written in kanji there was no way he could understand the writings but deduced that this is the school, following Anna's directions and being the only building to have a giant signboard this has to be the one.

Gray then opens the door but as he tries to go inside to check if anyone is there, suddenly a woman's voice spoke from behind him.

"Usually people knock before they enter."

"I-Im sorry I didn't mean to, I needed help"

"Hmm? I was expecting you to be a thief"

The woman clad in a dark blue dress with short white sleeves was surprised to see Gray apologize to her, she had thought Gray was some lowly thief trying to steal something from inside the school.

"Very well, then what are you here for?" she asks intently

"I'm looking for someone who can help me reach the Hakurei shrine"

"Ahhh, I see"

Looking at Gray's clothes as if she was scanning something she finally understood why he wishes to go to the Hakurei shrine.

"You must be one of the outsiders then?"

"Yes..my name is Gray Cutter I need to get this supplies back to my friends in the real world"

"i see, very well come with me, my name is Keine Kamishirasawa."

Keine Kamishirasawa, at a glance Gray could tell she was not a normal human, from her silver coloured long hair to her clothes, much like Yukari she had a certain aura that emanated around her, but unlike Yukari, hers was more of a warm one.

As she bowed to Gray who also bowed in turn they set off to the Hakurei shrine.

The way towards the Hakurei shrine was dark and treacherous during the night, no normal human would dare travel alone without a group, what scared Gray the most was the chances of coming across Rumia the man eating youkai of darkness, the one who took Arthur's arm and took the life of one of his classmates Jack.

Keine notices Gray shaking and looking left and right as if something was watching him, she knew about what happened to them, and wanted to at least make him feel comfortable.

"Dont worry, no youkai will attack you if Im here"

"huh.. you must be really strong then"

Gray had never seen any of them fight youkai, he remembers catching a glimpse of what Reimu did to repel the youkai that was about to devour him last night but that was all he could remember, after seeing just what a little youkai could do, he wouldn't be surprised if he knew Keine could do something more amazing.

"Not really, but I am strong enough to protect the village" she said modestly, letting out a calm smile as she adds to her sentence "There are many youkai hunters and incidents resolvers who will go to great lengths to protect the village".

"incident resolvers?"

"incidents are events where in the balance or stability of Gensokyo is threaten one such disaster was during the Red mist incident when the a vampire plotted to cover the skies with a red mist, that is where the incident resolvers come in they are the ones who bring balance in Gensokyo whenever somebody or something threatens its stability, the best of them would be Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame."

Incident resolvers would then be what Gray would call heroes then; he was excited at the fact of being able to meet heroes in real life, those that would protect the weak while battling monsters and all sorts of creature.

"really? Cool! Are you one of them?" Gray asks intently

"no, I protect the village as its guardian if an imminent threat comes up i can at least the entire village until the threat is gone—" as Keine was about to explain her powers as the protector of the village, she noticed that they are already in front of the stairway leading to the Hakurei shrine.

"—ah so we're here already, better get moving then Cutter san"

"a—ah yeah thank you"

"Yes, goodbye for now"

The two bow to each other as they say they part ways, as Keine travels back to the village, Gray looks back seeing her off on her way as she disappears into the thick mist.

"heh i remember running for dear life up these stairs" Gray can still remember the feeling he felt when he ran up these stair to escape that giant youkai that was about to eat him, this time he gets to climb up all the way and walk right up to the shrine

"Hello?, Reimu are you there?"

There was no answer *maybe she is sleeping* Gray thought, he can't go back now just because she is sleeping he needed her help and she is the only one who can get him back to the real world.

The Hakurei shrine in the night looks eerily creepy, unlike the places he has been to in the real world, there is at least a lamp post to shine some light on a building, but the shrine did not, the place looked like from a horror movie, the Hakurei shrine did not look like a grand building from the start, unlike the grand cathedrals, churches or other places of worship that were made from stone, the shrine had signs of being old with wear and tear it's a wonder how it is still maintained by its only occupant the shrine maiden Reimu.

"hmm, does anyone ever donate to the shrine?" taking a peak at the large donation box situated in front of the shrine, the box is supposedly for donations to the shrine but there is barely anything inside, except for a few coins, looking beyond the large box a large he sees a large wooden door but thinking that's not where Reimu could be sleeping.

"I don't remember seeing this part of the shrine when i woke up, maybe she is somewhere at the back of the shrine"

There was nothing for him at the front of the shrine, he needed to find Reimu to be able to bring the medical supplies back to his friends in the real world, walking past the right side of the shrine, a storage warehouse was situated near the shrine.

Making his way to the back of the shrine he managed to find familiar sliding doors that he remembered from this morning when he woke up, the back of the shrine looks like a pretty nice place to sit back and look at the sky or the groves, but at night a rather creepy chill kept bothering him, even with the constant feeling of being watched Gray could only try and fight back his fears and keep moving.

"huh, it took you guys long enough to come here" a familiar voice spoke to Gray as he was about to look back and check to see if Reimu was inside "so where are your friends? The faster we do this the better" talking in irritated tone, cranky from having Gray wake her up in the middle of her sleep, she wanted to return them back to their world as soon as possible.

"they are not with me yet-"

"-what?"

Reimu was clearly mad, she had expected them to try and leave Gensokyo after their unfortunate encounter with the youkai who reside in it, but hearing Gray tell her that they are not with him made her snap, Gray tries to explain the situation hoping she will understand.

"please, I need to get these supplies to my friends back in the real world, Anna and the others are still looking for one of our friends who split up from the group, Im sure they will come here to get back home when they find him."

Reimu furrows her brow as Gray explained the situation to her, but seeing the bag with medical supplies Gray carried with him she agreed

"...alright" Reimu said as she grabbed hold of Gray's arm not wanting to waste anymore time she skipped right to the point and prepares to fly.

"Hold on!"

"Hold wha- ahhh!"

Gray let out a panic as Reimu stomps the ground and flies up into the sky holding Gray's arm as they fly towards the cave where Gray and his friends came from.

"g-!"

The whole experience was far different from flying on the broom with Marisa and Anna, Gray could feel the air pushing him back trying to stop him from flying the direction they are headed, Gray struggles against the cold heartless winds pushing him, it's like riding a bike down a steep hill only this time he has no control over it.

"just try to slant your body towards the direction we are heading and try not to look down" Reimu said noticing that this is Gray's first time to ever fly.

What? - Gray could barely hear her the wind howling near his ears deafens him as he can only see Reimu's mouth flapping trying to tell him something, he could only nod his head then close his eyes and hold on to Reimu's arm as tight as he could hoping he will reach the cave soon.

Just then moments later Gray could feel Reimu's speed slow down as Gray opens his eyes to see a cave near the outskirts of the forest below them.

"We are here, you can open your eyes now" Reimu says as she hovers down below near the cave a few meters away from the forest

The place was like a nightmare relived for Gray, he could still remember him and his friends walking down the path down in the forest trying to make it to the smoke leading to the human village.

"Gray-san come on, the cave is this way"

"a-ahh, yeah coming"

Gray watched as he see's Reimu twirl her gohei, the purification rod she held in her hand as an orb with a yin and yang symbol forms out of thin air and hovers beside her, glowing with a bright light that lights the way inside the cave as she moves forward with Gray.

Traversing deep inside the dark cave they look for the portal that Reimu found which leads Gray back to the real world, but as they kept moving forward they found themselves stuck in their tracks as they see three ways into the cave ahead of them.

"..."

"umm i thought you knew where to g—"

"—i know where to go!...Im just a little tired" Reimu exclaimed her flustered face gave away the fact she is also lost having forgotten where the portal was located, she had already gone inside and found the portal but she didn't pay attention to the other two diverging paths inside the cave

"Let's just rest here for awhile until I rememb- rested enough"

"...alright i guess" Gray sighed while Reimu sits down rubbing her chin with her fingers trying to remember which way was the portal located.

Reimu then created three yin yang orbs sent them to light the three paths if one of them leads to the portal, in the mean time she just sat there thinking.

The yin yang lay on the ground and lit the place like a bonfire, Gray had nothing to do except sit down and wait for Reimu to lead him out, but there were things he wanted to know from her.

"Reimu, can i ask you something?"

"Eh? Sure, about what?"

"If youkai are rampant throughout Gensokyo, why won't you do anything about it?"

Reimu sighed as Gray asked the question, the villagers probably asked her about this then – Gray thought, but Reimu gave her answer shortly after

"Gensokyo is fine the way it is, despite what happened to you and your friends Gensokyo is peaceful, and many of the youkai are friendly.

friendly? is this what a shrine maiden should say? isn't exterminating youkai her job? so why is she saying this? Gray couldn't understand why Reimu would think of youkai as a good thing, Gensokyo would have been better off without them Gray thought.

"Gensokyo already has a set of rules that enforces its balance, youkai won't go after people from the human village unless a villager wanders away alone, one of the rules is the *spell card rule* in that rule everyone has an equal chance of fighting, as long as you have a spell card youkai must follow the rules and duel you if they win they may not eat you, if they lose they will acknowledge it, in this way Gensokyo can remain steady and peaceful."

"but.." even as Gray tried to interrupt her to ask something about the youkai he met awhile ago in the village, Yukari Reimu continued with her explanation.

"unfortunately, I cannot assure the safety of outsiders, some youkai know of a way to bypass the Hakurei border just like how you and your friends got here, if an outsider were to encounter any of the youkai in Gensokyo there is a high chance the outsider would be eaten."

It didn't matter then, the rules were made to protect people from the village, unless the outsider had powers or a spell card the outsider will no doubt be killed and eaten.

Maybe that was why the villagers let them stay in that big house and treated them as though they were hotel guest, they are probably thinking the outsiders would either leave Gensokyo or be eaten - Gray thought but as he was about to add something to say Reimu still continued

"That's why you and your friends must get back to your world"

Unknown to Reimu the chances of them surviving back in the real world are pretty slim given that they are stranded somewhere in the unknown parts of their country, if they hadn't found their way into Gensokyo they wouldn't be able to find food and shelter as well as medicine and bandages for their wounds.

"Can't we stay here? Maybe if you help us find a way to get some powers to defend ourselves then staying wouldn't be a problem."

"No, you and your friends should just go home; if you all get powers what do you think will you and your friends do with them? You think your friends will just accept having powers and do nothing with it?" Reimu spoke anger can be felt with every word she said.

Were there other outsiders before them? Chances are there were, if so, did they also gain powers and what did they do with them?, Reimu's anger was clearly showing, the outsiders before him and his friends probably did something that caused lots of pain to her and to the humans and youkai in Gensokyo.

Reimu is right, there is no reason for us to stay, maybe the driver came back with help and with the supplies Layla gathered we could probably last a week inside the cave until help arrives – Gray thought as he nods and agrees to what Reimu said

"you are right, this place is not for us i guess"

"hmm? I expected you to whine or at least look for a reason to stay"

Gray did not want to stay, even if the place was full of girls with powers the place is too dangerous for him, besides he still has a life in the real world heck they all do as a student there are still things they can do and he did not want to leave his parents without saying a word.

"It's tempting, but after all we've been through I think staying in our world is better hehe."

Reimu smiled as Gray said that, believing he has made the right choice.

"hmm? I think it's this way" Reimu said as she felt a sudden wave of energy coming from one of the passageways.

"..!?, stay here!" She said stopping Gray from getting up, that wave of energy, she had never felt it before when she went inside the cave this morning.

She went to the right most passageway, exploring deep inside the passageway she could feel the wave of energy getting stronger and stronger, the feeling was intense as if trying to bear the burden of several negative emotions, in time she found the portal leading back to the real world.

"Something is not right." Reimu mutters as she sensed something coming from the portal, she walked closer trying to get a closer inspection of the portal.

"!"

Coming out from the portal several figures came out running towards Reimu, the figures had rotting flesh, sewn together by black liquid, the eyes are either hanging out from their sockets or completely removed.

"what the aaaaa!" Reimu screamed as she ran from the zombie like monsters chasing her.

Back in the crossroad inside the cave Gray sat there near the yin yang orb glowing like a bonfire waiting for Reimu, he was slowly dozing off about to fall asleep until he heard someone yelling from the passageway Reimu entered.

"Runrunrunrunrunrunrun!" He hears a faint sound coming from the passageway but he could not make out what it means.

Just as Gray was wondering where the sound was coming from, Reimu came out from one of the passageways running and screaming.

"MOTHEROFHAKUREI RUN!" She didn't even bother to look at Gray she was just running as fast as she could away from the monsters.

"what's that about?" Gray muttered to himself what's gotten into Reimu she seemed okay awhile ago, but as he wondered what was Reimu doing, he could hear moans and screeches coming from the passageway she came out from

"Whaaaaa!?" Gray saw the zombie like creatures charging towards him from the cave.

"ahh!, ouch!" backing away as Gray was about to turn around and run away he tripped and fell to the ground.

Like a hopeless victim in a zombie movie Gray just closed his eyes as he prepares for his imminent death from the zombie like creatures.

"SEALING NEEDLES!"

The voice calls out of nowhere as flashes of light move towards the creatures striking the creatures at the head, the creatures fell down one by one the needles embedded in their skull or where their heads are supposed to be.

"Huh?" Gray said slowly opening his eyes; he was expecting a cruel death being eaten away piece by piece by the monsters.

"Well that takes care of them" Gray looks back as he heard a voice from behind him, it was Reimu he really thought Reimu ran away the same way he did to his friends last night.

"hehe sorry about that, they spooked me" Reimu apologizes lowering her head to Gray, The monsters just came out from the portal and came running towards her, looking at the monsters coming towards her at such a pace caught her off guard and spooked her so much that she just opted to run away.

"!?" Gray was at a lost for words, looking at the zombie like creatures covered in a black goo like ink that slowly dissolved revealing the bodies that were possessed like a puppet.

"Micheal?, Lisa?, Russel?"

The bodies were like patches of meat stitched together by the black goo, looking closer he recognize their faces, deformed, bloody, eyes missing or hanging from their sockets.

Gray couldn't say anything, what happened to them? He wondered as he tightly grasps the torn uniform that belonged to them.

The pieces of meat stitched together that were chasing Reimu were his friends, the other who stayed behind in the cave because of their injuries, they were dead, Gray could barely tell who is which except for Lisa as the faces were torn beyond comprehension.

Gray breathed heavily, as Reimu watches from behind, unable to bear the site any longer Reimu placed her hand on Gray's shoulder.

"..I'm sorry.."

Reimu could only offer a few words, she knew it was not enough to comfort him but it was the only thing she could think of, for the moment.

The bodies begin to dissolve, skin and bone evaporate into the air as the black goo that piece them together disappear.

"Gray.. Let's go"

"What about the portal?"

"There might be more coming from it, so to prevent them from coming here I must close it."

She went inside the passageway once more and seals the portal using her using an amulet.

With that there is no way for Gray and his friends to return to their world unless she can find the right ritual that will send them back to the cave in the real world.

After the sealing the portal Gray and Reimu walk back out of the cave, Gray notices Reimu being silent probably because she has no choice but to let them the outsiders stay in Gensokyo and risk the chance of the outsiders causing harm and threatening the balance of Gensokyo.

"..I'm sorry..."

Gray's voice was dry and coarse, he apologized to Reimu because now he and his friends have no choice but to stay in Gensokyo, he didn't want Reimu to be mad at him.

"it's ok, there's no choice in the matter" Reimu sighed as she said those words, there is still a way to send Gray and his friends back to their world, but that would be a cruel thing to do still, even if they were to cross the Hakurei border and into the real world they would be stranded in an unfamiliar place still.

Gensokyo is from Japan, so if ever a person would cross the border from Gensokyo they would no doubt be in Japan, unless the outsider knew how to read and speak Japanese they would just be stranded on another nation.

"Don't worry, my friends are good people, they won't cause trouble"

"Hmph we'll see" Reimu scoffed at what Gray said, she wanted to believe what Gray said was true but from her experience, the chances are slim.

Making their way out of the cave, the two notice something was glowing from over the horizon.

"How long were we inside that cave?" Gray asked thinking that the sun was probably coming up

"..."

But Reimu had something else in her mind, the sun would have risen from the east, the glow was coming from the west, as she locks her gaze she saw a several large clumps of smoke rising from it, Reimu knew what was beyond the forest, it was the human village, and it was burning.


End file.
